Antitamper device for liquid dispensers

ABSTRACT

An antitamper device for mounting in a dispenser which measures, records, and pours liquor by the drink to prevent the entrance of a wire or toothpick into the valve region of the dispenser. This prevents the valve from being pried open or propped open to prevent unwanted, and uncounted dispensing of liquor from the bottle on which the dispenser is mounted.

United States Patent I Peter P. Bazarnic P.O. Box 24, Willoughby, Ohio 44094 [21 AppL No. 767,439

[22] Filed Oct. 14, 1968 [45] Patented Feb. 9, 1971 [72] Inventor [54] ANTITAMPER DEVICE FOR LIQUID DISPENSERS 8 Claims, 3 Drawing Figs.

[52] [1.8. Cl 222/36, 222/153, 222/435, 222/447 [51] Int. Cl B67d 5/32, (1011 1 1/32 [50] Field of Search 222/147, 153, 35, 435, 459, 36, 447; 215/26 [56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,044,979 1 1/1912 Biederman 215/26 1,310,366 7/1919 Morrow..... 215/26 2,] 16,966 5/1938 Barlow 222/153 2,504,145 4/1950 Morrone 222/147X 2,626,723 1/1953 Onorato 222/147x 3,243,086 3/1966 Dousette 222/447 Primary Examiner-Robert B. Reeves Assistant Examiner-Frederick R. Handren Attorney-Dugger, Peterson, Johnson & Westman ABSTRACT: An antitamper device for mounting in a dispenser which measures, records, and pours liquor by the drink to prevent the entrance of a wire or toothpick into the valve region of the dispenser. This prevents the valve from being pried open or propped open to prevent unwanted, and

uncounted dispensing of liquor from the bottle on which the.

dispenser is mounted.

ANTITAMPER DEVICE FOR LIQUID DISPENSERS BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1 My said application shows a form of antitamper unit that is generally useful, but is somewhat difficult to manufacture. In addition, clever and determined thieves could bend objects in a manner to permit jamming of the valves.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a bushing-type antitamper unit that mounts inside the throat of the dispenser and which is simple to manufacture, fool proof in use, and prevents inserting wires, toothpicks, pins, or the likeinto the valve region of the dispenser. v

The bushing comprises a cylindrical member closely fitting within the interior walls of the throat or discharge passage of the dispenser and having axially extending passageways adjacent the periphery thereof which are of a substantial length in comparison to their diameter. The bushing is used in combination with a disc that is concentric with the bushing and is spaced from the inner end of the bushing a slight distance to block objects that are inserted through the holes from passing down into the valve region. The bushing and disc overlie the outlet valve of the dispenser. It is a combination of this passageway having substantial length and a disc blocking passage of slender objects axially through the holes into the valves, that gives the unique results: The disc is spaced from the bushing so that liquid can 'flow into the passageways in the bushing without hindrance. 1

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT The device of the present invention has the same operating mounted and will measure the amount dispensed, and also will record the number of times this amount has been dispensed.

The counter cannot be reversed and can be reset only by moving the lock tab 24 to a released position. A seal used is destroyed each time the tab lock tab 24 is released. Thus, the seals prevent tampering with the counting mechanism without detection once the dispenser is'installed. The outer housing 21 includes a center measuring section 27 which has an interior measuring chamber 28. The unit is assembled in a suitable manner for manufacturing purposes. A port 33 opens into the interior of the bottle 35 and to the chamber 28. A valve disc 37 is suitably guided and is used for sealing the port 33 when the unit is actuated. In normal position, the valve is spaced from the port 33 and the liquid from the bottle can flow into the chamber 28 when the bottle is tipped.

The valve disc 37 is mounted onto a shaft 38, and the valve disc 37 is slidably mounted on the shaft. but prevented from coming off the shaft with a retaining ring at the end of the shaft. A spring 39 is mounted over shaft 38 between disc 37 and an upper valve disc 40 which is also slidably mounted onto the shaft 38 and is held from going in an upward direction with a suitable retaining ring. The spring 39 spring loads the discs against their retainers. The valve discs 37 and 40 each carry a suitable sealing O-ring which seal. against the surfaces surrounding the respective ports. For example, the valve disc 40 has an O-ring 41 that seals against the surface 42 surrounding a throat portion or discharge passage 43 through which the liquid must be discharged when it is being dispensed. The shaft 38 extends upwardly into the center of the throat. and carries an antitamper bushing 45 and an antit'amper disc 46 which are both fixedly mounted in the shaft and move with the shaft 38. The upper portion of the shaft has a small section with a hall shown in dotted lines at 47 which fits within a socket in an actuator arm 48. The actuator arm 48 is controlled through the use of the handle 25. A handle 25 is suitable pivotally mounted onto a pin 49 and is movable toward and away from the housing for actuating the unit. A spring 54 urges the lower section of the handle away from the housing and therefore urges a cover section 50 of the handle against the pouring spout 22.

An actuator bell crank 56 is also pivotally mounted onto a bushing over the pin 49 and moves about the same axis as the handle 25. The handle is U-shaped. and the bell crank is mounted between the outer legs of the handle and is held in position in a suitable manner. Lugs on the handle 25 are used for actuating the bell crank and moving it about its pivot when the handle is moved inwardly and outwardly as shown by the double arrow 51 for actuation. When this happens, the bell crank will be pivoted and meshing gear sectors illustrated generally at 63 are actuated. One of the gear sectors is on the bell crank, and the other is on the lever 48. The lever 48 is pivotally mounted onto a pin 62. When the handle 25 is depressed, the bell crank will be actuated so that the lever 48 moves about its pin 62 and the ball 47 in the socket on the outer end of the bell crank will be depressed or moved downwardly in the direction as indicated by the arrow 64. This will move the entire shaft 38 and assembly downwardly. When this occurs, it is normally during the dispensing operation when the device is positioned as shown in FIG. 3, and the chamber 28 will be filled with the liquid to be dispensed. Then, the valve disc 37 will seal the port 33 as shown in FIG. 3 as the handle is depressed. As the handle is further depressed, the shaft will slide through the valve disc 37 against the action of spring 39 and will move disc 40 to uncover the opening or port leading to the throat 43, and the liquid will be dispensed out through the throat and out the pouring spout 22. The spring 39 will compress as the shaft moves, and the retainer for disc 40 moves the disc with the shaft farther than is shown in FIG. 3. At the same time this is done, suitable actuating mechanism 70 and 71 as described in said application Ser. No. 683,031 will move the counting mechanism to one higher number to indicate that an additional drink has been dispensed.

A ball 68 is utilized for preventing the actuator handle 25 from being actuated when it is standing in upright position as shown in FIG. I. When the dispenser and bottle are tipped downwardly as shown in FIG. 3, the ball will run up into a provided pocket and permit the handle 25 to be actuated.

The counting mechanism is a ratchet-type drive including gears 70 and an actuator 71 which drives whenever the lever 48 is operated. i

it has been found when the units are positioned as shown in FIG. 3, and the device has been partially actuated, in particular, the counting mechanism has not yet operated. This is because the link 71 has not engaged the gear set 70 to rotate the recording dial 23. As can be seen, the handle 25 is partially actuated so that the pouring spout is open, and there is access through the separation between the outer end 50 of the handle forming a cover and the pouring spout 22. In this position, a wire or toothpick or other object shown generally in dotted lines in FIG. 3 could normally be inserted through the throat portion 43 to contact the valve disc 40 and move it off its seat by sliding it on shaft 38 against the force of spring 39. Then any liquid in the chamber 28 could drain out without recording the dispensing on the recording dial 23. This would defeat the whole purpose of the dispenser, and permit the dispensing of liquids without it being accurately counted. inorder to absolutely prevent such tampering, and also to provide an antitamper unit that is relatively fool proof and easy to manufacture, the bushing 45 anddisc 46 are utilized. These are mounted onto the shaft 38 in any suitable manner, and can be press fitted on, shrunk on, or held in place with suitable retaining rings.

The combination comprises the cylindrical or bushing member 45 having a pluralityof passageways 72 arranged adjacent the outer periphery thereof and extending axially through the cylindrical member 45. The passageways 72 are longin relation to their diameter. For example, in actual use, the passageways are approximately three thirty-seconds of an inch in diameter and the unit is approximately three-eighths of an inch long, or in other words the passageways are four times as long as their diameter. Thus the passageways 72 have a substantial length in relation to their diameter. The imperforatedisc 46 is fixedly attached below" the antitamper bushing as Y can be seen, the bushing fits closely within the'surfaces defining the throat 43 to prevent items from being slid down along the sides of the bushing, and alongthe sides of the disc. The imperforate disc 46 is positioned downwardly from the lower surface of the member 45 a distance substantially equal to the diameters of the passageways 72. The .disc 46 is about the same diameter as the bushing45. This prevents itemsfrom being thrust through the openingsand down onto the valve l. in a device for measuring the amount of liquid being dispensed from a container including valve means for controlling dispensing. and having an outlet passageway leading from said valve means, the improvement comprising valve aetuating means in said outlet passageway, antitamper means'in said outlet passageway comprising a ushing member positioned within said outlet passageway and having a plurality of elongated second passageways defined therethrough, said bushing being mounted on said valve actuating means. an imperforate member positioned adjacent the interior end of said bushing and being spaced a short distance from the inner end of said bushing, said second passageways in said bushing being aligned with and opening to the surface of said impcrforate member.

2. The combination as specified in claim I wherein said iniperforate member is disc like and moves in direction to clear said passageway when the valve actuating means is moved sufficiently far to actuate the valve controlling discharge of liquid from said dispenser. g

3. The combination as specified in claim I wherein the second passageways defined in said bushing are substantially longer than their diameters.

4. The combination as specified in claim I wherein the spacing between the inner end of said bushing and said imperforate member is substantially equal to the diameter of each. of said passageways in said bushing. I

5. A measuring dispenser for mounting on top of a bottleor the like, said dispenser including a housing, means for mounting said housing on the bottle. an interior chamber within said housing, said interior chamber having an inlet opening com-- municating with the interior of the bottle on which said housing is mounted, an outlet opening from said chamber. an outlet passageway defined in the housing and leading from the outlet opening to outside the housing, valve means inside said chamber for controlling flow through said inlet and outlet openings, actuator means including a shaft to operate said valve means to permit the dispensing and measuring of a quantity of liquid from the chamber, counting means to count the number of times said actuator means are actuated, and an antitamper member mounted on said shaft and positioned between the valve means controlling flow through the outlet disc 40 because the items would have to bend around the antitamper disc and down along-"the side thereof before they could be inserted. Because the antitamper disc 46 fits closely within the throat, in position as shown in FIG. 3, it is impossible to bend a toothpick or a metal-pin or wire around these comers and working through the small opening left betweenthe portion and the lip 22 of the dispenser. When the actuator handle is moved to full open position, the disc 46 moves inwardly past the surface 42 and liquid can easily flow out through the passageways 72, as the bushing will still be in the throat portion 43. The disc 40 is' removed from its seat, of course, when the handle is fully actuated.

If the wire is inserted through the passageways 72, it will merely abut against the surface of imperforate disc 46, and the bend or turn cannot be made. Thus the antitamper unit having a cylindrical body with a plurality of holes annularly arranged around the periphery thereof permits free dispensing of the liquid, and in combination with the imperforate disc 46 prevents tampering with the valves. Once the valve 40 is opened, the recording dial will have moved one more position and the liquid can be dispensed. The record of such dispensing will have been recorded on the dial 23.

- The bushing 45 and disc 46 can be made as a unitary assembly with the space between the'disc and the end of the bushing formed by cutting anannular groove in the assembly. The disc thus could be called a flangeor disc.

lclaim:

opening and the exterior of said housing, said antitaniper member substantially blocking the outlet passageway of said housing and having'a plurality of second passageways defined therein, each second passageway having a length substantially greater than its diameter, and an imperforate disc mounted on said shaft and positioned betweensaid antitamper member and the valve means controlling flow through said outlet opening, said imperforate disc aligning with the second passageways defined in said antitaniper member, and being spaced slightly from said antitamper member in direction toward said last-mentioned valve means.

6. The combination as specified in. claim 5 wherein said counting mechanism is nonreversible and which operates each time the valve means controlling flow through the outletopening is opened, and wherein the housing has a cover member, said cover member opening slightly before said counting mechanism is operated whereby slender objects can be inserted into said outlet passageway prior to operating said valve controlling flow through said outlet opening.

7. The combination as specified in claim 5 wherein said outlet passageway is cylindrical, and said antitamper member is cylindrical and slightly smaller than the passageway.

8. The combination as specified in claim 7 wherein said second passageways are axialjextending through the antitamper member and are arranged adjacent the outer periphery of the antitamper member. 

1. In a device for measuring the amount of liquid being dispensed from a container including valve means for controlling dispensing, and having an outlet passageway leading from said valve means, the improvement comprising valve actuating means in said outlet passageway, antitamper means in said outlet passageway comprising a bushing member positioned within said outlet passageway and having a plurality of elongated second passageways defined therethrough, said bushing being mounted on said valve actuating means, an imperforate member positioned adjacent the interior end of said bushing and being spaced a short distance from the inner end of said bushing, said second passageways in said bushing being aligned with and opening to the surface of said imperforate member.
 2. The combination as specified in claim 1 wherein said imperforate member is disc like and moves in direction to clear said passageway when the valve actuating means is moved sufficiently far to actuate the valve controlling discharge of liquid from said dispenser.
 3. The combination as specified in claim 1 wherein the second passageways defined in said bushing are substantially longer than their diameters.
 4. The combination as specified in claim 1 wherein the spacing between the inner end of said bushing and said imperforate member is substantially equal to the diameter of each of said passageways in said bushing.
 5. A measuring dispenser for mounting on top of a bottle or the like, said dispenser including a housing, means for mounting said housing on the bottle, an interior chamber within said housing, said interior chamber having an inlet opening communicating with the interior of the bottle on which said housing is mounted, an outlet opening from said chamber, an outlet passageway defined in the housing and leading from the outlet opening to outside the housing, valve means inside said chamber for controlling flow through said inlet and outlet openings, actuator means including a shaft to operate said valve means to permit the dispensing and measuring of a quantity of liquid from the chamber, counting means to count the number of times said actuator means are actuated, and an antitamper member mounted on said shaft and positioned between the valve means controlling flow through the outlet opening and the exterior of said housing, said antitamper member substantially blocking the outlet passageway of said housing and having a plurality of second passageways defined therein, each second passageway having a length substantially greater than its diameter, and an imperforate disc mounted on said shaft and positioned between said antitamper member and the valve means controlling flow through said outlet opening, said imperforate disc aligning with the second passageways defined in said antitamper member, and being spaced slightly from said antitamper member in direction toward said last-mentioned valve means.
 6. The combination as specified in claim 5 wherein said counting mechanism is nonreversible and which operAtes each time the valve means controlling flow through the outlet opening is opened, and wherein the housing has a cover member, said cover member opening slightly before said counting mechanism is operated whereby slender objects can be inserted into said outlet passageway prior to operating said valve controlling flow through said outlet opening.
 7. The combination as specified in claim 5 wherein said outlet passageway is cylindrical, and said antitamper member is cylindrical and slightly smaller than the passageway.
 8. The combination as specified in claim 7 wherein said second passageways are axial extending through the antitamper member and are arranged adjacent the outer periphery of the antitamper member. 